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THIS WEEK: A Roundup (

The War

Victory In North Africa

Complete disaster has finally overtaken the Germans in North
Africa. All organized resistance has ended. General yon Arnim
has surrendered, and at least 150,000 prisoners have been taken.

Correspondents tell of one of the
strangest sights of the war—the
spectacle of thousands of Nazi”
troops, remnants of the once-
proud Africa Korps, driving back
through Allied lines in every kind
of vehicle, without Allied military
escort, asking directions to the-
nearest prison camp.

The collapse of enemy resistance
came suddenly when the Ameri-
cans and the British First Army
broke through to MBizerte and
Tunis, with the French coming
in from the north. The move
caught the German High Com-
mand off guard. They had count-
ed on the break-through coming
from the south by the forces of
the British Bighth Army, and
maintained formidable armored
forces in that area. When the
main weight of the British and
American armor broke through

in the center it was too late to
bring up the southern forces and
the Germans were through. ‘

With the collapse of the armored
units came an astonishing col-
lapse of morale. German soldiers,
officers and general officers sur
rendered en masse. One general
was said to have burst into tears
when he reached the headquarters
of the American division which
had smashed his forces.

Thus fell those who boastfully
elaimed they were supermen. It
is a good omen for the future,
“substantiating the experience of
the Russian front. The Germans
fight well only so long as they
possess the overwhelming pro-
tection of superior panzer units.
When they are smashed and they
face the cold steel of the bayonets
and the hail of fire from the air,
they lose confidence, courage, and
then surrender. °

wrer?

Seeend Front First On Agenda

The victory in Tunisia has now placed the question of the
second front first on the agenda. There are some positive facts
indicating that preparations are well under way for an invasion

of the continent. It was revealed
this week that the famous British
Highth Army was removed from
the Tunisian front some weeks ago,
a fact that caused the Nazi high
command considerable uneasiness.
This powerful fighting organiza-
tion owas unquestionably with-
drawn from the front to put it in
readiness to become the spearhead
of the Allied invasion of Europe.
Experts agree there is no other
Allied army outside the Soviet
Union that has had so much and
such brilliant experience and that
has proven it can strike well and
powerfully. That same experience
and organization will prove in-

valuable to General Alexanders
fine troops in any invasion of
Europe.

Prime Minister Churchill’s visit
to Washington for discussions with
President Roosevelt also herald
early action by the United Nations
against the Axis. Some observers
are speculating as to whether the
Churchill-Roosevelt talks indicate
a reorientation of Allied strategy
in the direction of concentrating
mainly upon Japan and the Pacific
war theaters. Undoubtedly the two
leaders will discuss the possibility
of a Japanese offensive, perhaps

against India, that would seek to
remove pressure against Hitler in
Europe, and will take the neces-
sary steps to block such an of-
fensive. But unless they decide to
completely revise the strategic plan
arrived at in the Casablanca con-
ference, where the main emphasis
was placed on the defeat of Hitler
Germany first, to be followed by
concentration in the Pacific thea-
ter, it is likely the Washington
talks are for the purpose of de-
veloping final plans for the in-
vasion of the European continent,
perhaps at several points.

Most likely landing points for the
invasion will be at some point on
the French coast fronting the
Channel, where the shipping prob-
lem would be easiest solved,
coupled with diversionary thrusts
against the Lowlands and Norway.
Meantime Allied forces in the
Mediterranean would have a choice
of several invasion points, includ-
ing Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia,
and the Balkans. Allied bridge-
heads at any of these points are
possible because the enemy is un-
able to provide sufficient cover-
ing forces for every sector of the
long European coast. The bitter-
est fighting would of course come
farther inland.

Axis Position Becomes Desperate

In the face of the latest development in Tunisia, plus the un-
certainty created by the Churchill-Roosevelt talks, the Axis
position is becoming desperate. Hitler is still a slave to his own

war. He must attack in Russia in
one last desperate effort to free
his rear. The fighting in the Kuban

area, with the naval base of Novy-
orossisk under siege by the Red
Army, shows how desperately the

Germans want every inch of Rus-
sian soil, how desperately they
cling to every hope of advancing
in the Bast.

But the Soviet aerial offensive
has shown such great power that
it is questionable whether Hitler
can deal the first blow. Instead
the Red Army is driving a new
wedge into positions west of Vel-
iki Luki in an effort to cut the
north-south railway running from
Vitebsk to Kiev and to penetrate

into Latvia and Poland.
Everything now seems to depend
on the speed with which the in-
vasion takes place. If the Euro-
pean bridgehead is firmly estab-
lished within a short time, more
attention can be given to the Pa-
cific war and the offensive against
Japan developed. Otherwise events
in the Bast may force a deviation
of concentration in the direction
and the Allies in the European
theater will be weakened.

Poland

‘Soon There'll Be None Left’

While the Polish people suffer under the heel of Hitler and
their country is ruthlessly plundered by a gang of German pluto-
crats, and while the necessity of turning the full force of every

anti-fascist power against Hitler-
ism becomes more vital, the
emigre government of General Si-
korski has been able to offer to
the Polish people only one watch-
word—‘Wait.”

The Polish ministers are appar-
ently not all put out by the simple
fact that the Polish people are no
longer in a position to wait.

“The country is waiting,” wrote
the illegal Nowy Dzien recently,
“but it cannot go on waiting in-
definitely for the simple reason
that very secon there will be no-
body left to wait.”

“The Germans are conducting a
systematic and planned campaign
to exterminate the Polish people,”
stated a recent appeal issued by
the leaders of the Polish under-

ground. “The continuation of this

campaign threatens the intellectual
section of the Polish nation with
complete annihilation and the peo-
ple itself with such decimation that
when hostilities end the great tasks
confronting us may prove beyond
our strength.”’

The Polish people have not sur-
rendered to their treacherous, cun-
ning enemy. But even the most
desperate appeals sent out by the
heroic Polish patriots seem to have
the least effect on the Sikorski
cabinet-in-exile. From the tompar-
ative safety of London, General
Sikorski has taken a highly am-
biguous stand on the question.

Even Sikorski’s own underground
paper frankly admits that the un-
derground movement it represents
“could deliver more biows at the
occupationists and conduct a wider
struggle.

“But we,” the paper goes on to

say, “consciously refrain from this.
We have followed the orders of
the government and the command-
er of the armed forces of our
country to wait with our rifles
grounded.”

In the meantime, hundreds of
thousands of Poles and Jews are
regularly taken te a certain town
on the River Bug, where a small
group of Storm Trooper “scientif-
ic specialists” act as their execu-
tioners, in two camps of death,
where instead of machine guns or
gallows, the executioners use a
new method of killing. The Poles
are driven into hermetically-
sealed chambers, where they are
put to death by steam.

The stand taken by the Sikorski
government and organizations sub-
ordinate to it, therefore, naturally
evokes indignation and suspicion
among the Poles.

“The position of the Polish gov-
ernment,” it was recently stated
by German radio commentators,
“caused profound satisfaction
in Berlin.” The “position” referred
to, of course, was their collabora-
tion in the filthy provocation con-
cocted by Goebbels regarding the
allegation that in 1940 Soviet au-
thorities arranged a mass execu-
tion of Polish officers in a forest
near Smolensk.

From the propaganda of passiv-
ity to the blackmailing of the Al-
lies and from an inimical cam-
paign against the Soviet Union to
actual collusion with Hitler—such
is the inglorious path travelled by
General Sikorski’s emigre govern-
ment, which in actual fact is con-
tinuing the Beck policy which led
Poland to disaster in 1939.

Where Does Sikorski Stand?

Just where the Polish government-in-exile stands in this
war against fascism seems to become more and more uncertain
with every news release concerning it, and the Poles themselves,

as well as the outside world, are
beginning to wonder if their so-
called “leader,” General Sikorski,
is on the side of democrAcy, in
the camp of the Axis, or just out to
play one side against the other.

News reached this country re-
cently, for instance, that the Polish
government-in-exile prevented a
Soviet-equipped army of more than
70,000 Polish soldiers from fight-
ing on the eastern front against
the Germans in 1942, and used its
consular offices and the relief or-
ganization it was permitted to or-
ganize within the USSR for es-
pionage purposes against the Soviet
Union.

These disclosures were presented
to British and American newsmen
in Moscow last week in a lengthy

memorandum by Andrei Y. Vish-
insky, Vice-Commissar of Foreign
Affairs of the Soviet Union.

The Polish-Soviet agreement
specified that the troops should
“fight the German brigands shoul-
der te shoulder with Soviet troops.”
The USSR loaned hundreds of mil-
lions of roubles to the Polish Com-
mand to establish the army. But
despite repeated assurances that
these units would be put into ac-
tion, the actual date of their dis-
patch to the front kept being
postponed. —

Vichinsky gives detailed instan-
ces of anti-Soviet espionage carried
on by officials of the Polish govern-
ment-in-exile, giving mames of the
guilty parties and quoting from
official documents.

‘Slave For &

Revealing that in ~
recruited for slave hi
view, official organ
force the population i°
areas to report to ti
labor exchange, whict
packs them off to Gj
work in the industries
fields. ; '

A German publication
as stating that “since
are only issued to perso
port to the employm®’
nearly all workers are
come under review a
manpower for Germany,

Janet Weaver, Mosc:
pondent for the Inter
News, tells the story 0!
slave, Vera P., a slight,
Russian girl mobilized
and transported by frei
many, with only enougi
water on the journey &
in the “recruits.”

In Germany they we
into a slave market é
over by German mén 2
who bought the girls o1
of their good looks at
appearance. Vera did)
strong enough for them
she was purchased for
along with 14 other
Kursk and taken to 1
farm, where they work
in the morning till 6 a
a bit of bread, a portion
and some potatoes. A we
of food was consumed ft
by these workers, and
they started for ‘wor
breakfast. When they
apples that fell from
and pulled carrots to 4]
hunger, they were beat

Save Ameri

As the 78th Con;
a short recess, orgé
against renewed cor
economic stabilization
special executive mee
GIO is being held May
land, called by CIO Pr
lip Murray, will consic
ous crisis in the natio!
tion policy. Murray. i
that the “CIO mobilize
ship and the entire ce
er to carry out the
‘hold the line” order
prices and wages, ¥
roll back prices to tht
ing in September 15, Ii!
mand necessary wage
to meet the increased
ing.

Roosevelt’s order h
nored by a large ger
gress who have balkec
price control but havi

B
Ineentive I

One of the cont
movement in recen
production. Many
have balked at the p
ing it may have t
breaking down wag
working standards &